Neva SGR invests in V-Nova for video compression
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Faye Sutton
| 27 July 2021
Tech-focused venture capital firm Neva SGR is supporting the development of London-based video and image data compression firm V-Nova.

vnova news featured VNovaNeva White 1 1Following the investment from Neva First, the alternative investment fund managed by Neva SGR, V-Nova has completed its series C round, having raised a total of €33 million.

V-Nova focuses on technologies that offer users a new, richer interactive experience with images and videos. Its main areas of application are video streaming, social media, web video, video communication, virtual reality and immersive video, broadcasting, professional production/post-production and artificial intelligence (AI) media indexing.

The company has already registered over 300 international patents and currently employs around 70 people between its headquarters in London and facilities in Bangalore. V-Nova’s business model consists of monetising its technologies through IP royalties under software licensing agreements.

V-Nova technology underpins two new video and image international compression standards: ISO/IEC 23094-2 MPEG-5 part 2 LCEVC (Low-Complexity Enhancement Video Coding), the first and only MPEG standard that improves the performance of any existing or future codec; and ST-2117 SMPTE VC-6, a full codec that can be used for next-generation applications, thanks to its hierarchical format powered by embedded neural networks.

V-Nova’s solutions help reduce environmental impact by improving video performance on existing hardware without the need to replace it and by reducing energy consumption in data centres due to the decrease in the computational capacity demand for video processing. The sustainability benefits enabled by V-Nova’s technologies are in line with Neva SGR’s and Intesa Sanpaolo Group’s commitment to green investments and were a key driver in the decision to invest.

Mario Costantini, CEO of Neva SGR, commented: “We decided to invest in V-Nova because it has all the right components to become a billion euro company in the next few years. We are convinced that the company will soon establish itself on the market as a tech leader alongside top global players, and we are prepared to support it in its future developments. This investment meets three essential conditions for Neva SGR’s growth: investing in companies that guarantee excellent returns for our investors, supporting high-technology, high-innovation companies and doing so in the pursuit of environmental sustainability.”

Added Guido Meardi, CEO & co-founder of V-Nova: “The support we have received from Neva SGR enables us to move forward with our mission to develop video compression technologies that allow the largest number of users to access their favourite content anywhere and on any device, efficiently and sustainably. Neva’s commitment further strengthens our balance sheet and will propel us forward on our strategic path, improving our market position.”